Alhurra's identifying icon, designed by the UK's Lambie-Nairn, is the Arabian horse, which will appear on-screen during program breaks. Click on the photo to view streaming video. It will take your breath away.
With the support of President Bush, non-military U.S. broadcasters have launched an Arabic-language all-news and current affairs satellite television service in the Middle East. "It is little wonder that Alhurra (Arabic for "the free one") has faced a barrage of condemnation from the journalistic elites of the Arab world," says Kenneth Y. Tomlinson* in a Wall Street Journal commentary (available to subscribers only):
That was to be expected. But they aren't our targets. Our broadcasts are aimed at the people, which is why it is so important that we establish long-term credibility with the quality and accuracy of our news programs. If Alhurra establishes trust with its audience, then maybe the people will turn to us with serious questions long obscured by the Arab-Israeli conflict, such as the historian Bernard Lewis's fundamental question, "What went wrong?"
As hundreds of e-mails pour in, we seem to be touching our target audience. "You are much needed to balance biased news controlled by those full of hatred to western world," reads one. "This is the first step to fight the 'hate culture' that feeds terrorism," says another. Then there is a 26-year old doctor in Basra, Iraq, who told of treating soldiers during the war -- "wounded Arab fighters who had been misled by Saddam lies." He concludes: "I hope your channel [will help] our Arab brothers . . . to tell the truth from all that is going on."
*Mr. Tomlinson is chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors which oversees all non-military U.S. international broadcasting.
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